Promise Programs Listed By State

What are the characteristics of a Promise program? Because there is no national organization to clearly define such a program, there remains some debate and differing interpretations. At Cities of Promise, we take perhaps a more inclusive approach. Everyone agrees that the Promise movement is about place-based scholarships. Most would argue that it is city-, district- or county-wide initiative with an expectation of local economic development, but we are including the statewide lottery-supported programs (indicated by ••) as well. We feel that there is a lot to learn from those programs, many of which have been around for 20 years. And, of course, creating programming beyond just financial support seems to be a generally accepted component. Below is a state-by-state look at the 81 places we’ve deemed as “Cities of Promise” as well as the 21 states offering scholarships. The initiative has spread to 36 states. If you think we’ve missed one, let us know.